Theater



B. E. TOGERSEN:

THEATER.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 28, 1921.

Patemefl Nov. 15, 1921.

BERNT E. TQGERSEN, 03E SEATTLE, WASHINGTON.

THEATER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 15, 1921.

Application filed February 28, 1921. Serial No. 448,408.

T 0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, BERNT E. ToGEnsnN, a citizen of the United States,and a resident of the city of Seattle, county of King, State ofl/Vashington, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inTheaters, of which the following is a speclfication.

My invention relates to improvements 1n the construction of theaters, orlike buildings; more particularly it relates to a certain novelarrangement of the floors of motion picture theaters for the purpose ofincreasing the available seating capacity, reducing the cost ofconstruction and for the conservation of building space.

The principal object of the invention 5 to provide a theater having anupper and a lower floor of approximately the same seating capacity andwhich are built to slope respectively upwardly and downwardly from thestage, and the picture pro ecting camera is located intermediate thefloors to pro ect upon a screen upon the stage which is visible to allportions on both floors.

Another object of the invention resides in the construction of a theaterof the above described character wherein accessibility to the two floorsis facilitated by extending the building downwardly to such depth thatthe main, or street level, entrance is in a plane substantially half-waybetween the entrance into the floors.

In accomplishing these and other ob ects of the invention, I haveprovided the improved details of construction, the preferred form ofwhich is illustrated in the accompanying drawing, wherein Figure l is alongitudinal, vertical, sectional view of atheater embodying the presentinvention. a

Fig. 2 is a floor plan view of the same.

Referring more in detail to the drawl designates what may be the frontwall of a theater building constructed according to the'presentinvention, and 2 is what may be the rear wall thereof. The main entranceinto the building is indicated at 3 which may be located at the streetor sidewalk level as shown at 4C. The entrance 8 opens into a lobby 5,from which, at opposite sides of the entrance, stairways 6 and 7 leadres ectively to an upper floor 8 and a lower oor 9; the constructionbeing such that the floor 9 is nearly as far below the street level asthe floor 8 is above it.

At the center of the building, adjacent thewall 2 is a stage 10 which issubstantially at the same horizontal level as the lobby floor and uponthe stage is placed a screen 11 onto which pictures may be projectedfrom a camera, indicated at 12, which is located in a room 13 builtadjacent the lobby; the camera being just slightly below the'level ofthe center of the screen.

In order to obtain the maximum seating capacity available in this typeof building, and at the same time provide that the screen be visiblefrom all seats, I have constructed two floors, an upper or balcony floor14 which is built in a plane that is inclined upwardly from the stageand a lower or auditorium floor 15 which lies in a plane that slopesdownwardly away from the stage; the planes of the floors bisecting eachother below and forwardly of the stage. The lower floor may extend fromthe floor of the lower lobby 16 which is directly below the main lobby5, up to the stage, while the upper floor, which is entered onto fromthe upper lobby 18, is extended as far toward the stage as is possible,without cutting into the area of projection from the camera, which wouldbe much closer/than is ordinarily possible in theaters where the lowerfloor slopes upwardly from the stage.

The degree of slope given the ,two floors would probably vary inbuildings of different size, but in all cases would be such, or theseats wouldbe so arranged that the line of sight from any particularpoint to all points of the screen would not be obscured by personsforwardly from a point of observation.

It will be seen that this arrangement provides that the screen may beeasily observed from any of the seats on the two floors and that theupper floor does'not interfere with the projection of the picture ontothe screen.

It is also apparent that this construction permits the upper floor to beextended" much farther toward the screen than is ordinarily possible andconsequently a. larger seating capacity is possible. 7

Such a construction also is less expensive, as a greater part of thebuilding can be extended below the street or ground level. and the partabove which usually carries expensive decorative features need not bemade so high as otherwise would be necessary.

It is readily apparent that such buildings could be made in varioussizes and shapes, otherwise than that herein illustrated withoutdeparting from the spirit of the present invention, the gist of whichresides in the sloping of the u per and lower floors respectively upwa'rly and downwardly from the stage and providing space between the samefor the projecting of a picture from a camera disposed between thefloors.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new therein anddesire to secure by Letters Patent. is:

1. In a theater of the class described having a stage at one endthereof, a lower auditorium floor inclined downwardly from the stage anda balcony floor inclined upwardly from the stage.

2. In a theater of the class described, having a stage at one endthereof, and entrance at the opposite end, a lower auditorium floorbuilt in an upwardly inclined plane toward the stage and a balcony floorbuilt in an upwardly inclined plane away from the stage and in suchposition that the planes of the floors intersect each other in a lineforwardly of and below the stage level.

3. A theater of the class described having a stage at one end thereofand an entrance floor at the opposite end, a lower auditorium floorinclined downwardly from the stage below the level of the entrance floorand a balcony floor inclined upwardly from the stage above the level ofthe entrance fioor and passageways leading from the entrance floorrespectively to the balcony and lower floors.

Signed at Seattle, Washington, this 19th day of February, 1921.

BERNT E. TOGERSEN.

